14 DAY TRIAL // AMD announced a new business focused on developing and licensing of graphics core technologies to semiconductor manufacturers across the mobile industry. As a result, new handheld devices with AMD graphics technology will reach a large number of customers who want to enjoy innovative user interfaces, 3D games and dynamic multimedia content.
With more than a billion handheld devices expected to be sold worldwide throughout 2007, and the growing demand for visually compelling content for these devices, there is a need for rich graphics and 3D acceleration technology. The new AMD IP licensing initiative combines engineering expertise, powerful AMD graphics technology, and application developer and publisher support to deliver innovative solutions for the development of 2D and 3D graphics on mobile devices.
"AMD has been developing graphics technology for PCs and video game consoles for more than 20 years, and has shipped more than 200 million AMD processors for mobile phones," said Paul Dal Santo, vice president and general manager of AMD's Handheld Division. "This uniquely qualifies AMD to work with OEMs and other semiconductor suppliers to bring to market handheld devices capable of delivering The Ultimate Visual Experience."
One of the companies that licensed AMD graphics technology is STMicroelectronics. The licensed technology includes 2D, 3D and vector graphics core engines, as well as related software compliant with OpenGL ES 2.0 and OpenVG 1.0 standards. Jyrki Hannikainen, general manager of STMicroelectronics' Application Processor Division, said: "Our extensive benchmarking research found that AMD delivers the highest quality graphics technology for handheld user interfaces and sophisticated applications such as GPS. Combining AMD's leading graphics core with the proven strengths of our Nomadik leading-edge multimedia platform will not only drive interest with application developers, but will help feed the consumer appetite for visually rich 3D applications and multimedia."
Working in close collaboration with leading semiconductor manufacturers such as STMicroelectronics, AMD plans to develop cutting-edge handheld platforms, and encourage the creation of rich-graphics content for mobile devices using new graphics standards such as OpenGL ES 2.0 and OpenVG 1.0.